Ilana Lisann is currently a senior at Christopher Newport University pursuing a B.A. in Political Science with minors in Leadership & National Security. She hopes to pursue a career in International Relations helping improve peace and security around the world.
“ I am so excited to have the opportunity to research what I am passionate about. The Reiff Center does such great work on human rights issues and conflict resolution, and I am very happy that I will get to learn from and add to that research
Email: ilana.lisann.14@cnu.edu

At the height of the Refugee Crisis in 2015, Sweden was considered to be the biggest safe haven in all of Europe. In 2015 alone, Sweden took in nearly 163,000 refugees, including 35,000 unaccompanied minors. At its peak, refugees were arriving at a rate of 10,000 a week. This made them the largest per capita…

Though no longer as prevalent in the news as it was several weeks ago, conflict and the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela is still raging today. Between an economic disaster, a failing health care system, an authoritarian dictatorship and violent protests, the country is in a state of chaos and unrest. This article analyzes how a country so…

History The Rohingya are a small Muslim group of about 1.1 million people living primarily in Myanmar (Burma until 1989). Though many of them have been living in Myanmar for generations, and some have settled in Myanmar in a region known as the Rakhine State, or Arakan, as early as the 15th century, they are not…

On June 23rd, a referendum was held in the United Kingdom where over 30 million people voted on whether or not the country should stay in the European Union. The Leave Campaign won by 52% to 48%, shocking Europe and the rest of the world. Background To fully understand why the UK voted in favor…

On July 15th 2016 just before 11:00 pm, the country of Turkey experienced its fifth military coup in the past 60 years. However, this illegal attempt to overthrow the government was different from the others, and there is still missing information regarding what happened. This post analyzes the causes of the coup by examining Turkey’s…